Reducing flange



Aug. 3, 1948.

L. LETTERMAN REDUCING FLANGE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 5, '1945 INVENTOR. BYLQWS Le'fkrmam V Him L. LETT ERMAN REDUCING FLANGE Aug. 3, 1948.

2 Sheets-sheaf. 2

Filed Feb. 5, 1945 JNVENTOR. Lefie r m an Ma;

Q Louis Y Hum/L separate size of pipe.

Patented Aug. 3, 1948 UNlTED STATES PATENT QFFICE REDUCING FLANGE Louis Letterman, Winthrop, Mass.

Application February 5, 1945, Serial No. 576,220

ing of uniform diameter and of a size to receive the end portion of the pipe to which it is to be welded, said flange being welded to the exterior of the pipe and the end of the pipe being also welded to the flange at theinterior of the bore.

Such flanges are standardized as to size and diameter of bolt hole circle for the various sizes of pipe, there being a standard size of flange with its standard diameter of bolt hole circle for each The size and dimension of the standard flange for any size of pipe differs from those for any other size of pipe so that a flange which is standard for one size of pipe cannot be bolted to a flange which is standard for some other size of pipe. I

When it is necessary to connect together two pipes of different diameter which have flanges welded thereto, it is a common practice to employ a reducing pipe section, which is a short section of pipe that is larger at one end than at the other, the larger end being of the same size as the larger of the two pipes to be connected and the small end being of the same size as the smaller of the two pipes to be connected. Sometimes such a reducing pipe section has welded to its larger end size and which can, therefore, be bolted to the mating or companion standard flange that is welded to the end of the larger pipe, and said reducing pipe section also has welded to its smaller end a smaller flange which, however, is

standard for a pipe of the size of the smaller end and'which, therefore, is of the same size and can be bolted to a standard companion flange that is welded to the end of the smaller pipe.

Such a construction involves the use of four flanges and a reducing pipe section in order to connect the smaller pipe to the larger pipe.

It is also more or less common to weld oneend of the reducing pipe section to one of the pipes to be connected together and then to flange the other end of the reducing pipe section to the other pipe by means of companion flanges that are welded to said reducing pipe section and other pipe respectively. 7

One object of my invention is to provide a novel construction by which two pipes of different sizes, each having a flange welded thereto, may be directly connected together without the use of a reducing pipe section.

This is accomplished by using on the mating ends of the two pipes of different diameter flanges which are of the same size and which are standard in size and diameter of bolt hole circle for the smaller pipe, and making the opening through the flange used on the larger pipe with a counterbore of a size to receive said larger pipe, which counterbore extends nearly but not quite through said flange, thereby providing a shoulder against which the end of the larger pipe may seat, and by further making the larger pipe with a beveled end face which inclines inwardly and backwardly and also providing said shoulder with a beveled face which with the beveled end face of the pipe formsa welding groove to receive the welding material by which the flange is welded to the pipe end. The flange is also preferably welded to the exterior of the pipe of larger size at the point where said pipe enters the counterbore. With this construction the two pipes of diiferent diameter can be connected by the use of two flanges only, both of which are standard as to size and diameter of bolt hole circle for the pipe of smaller size. An advantage of this construction is that it reduces very materially the weight of the means employed for connecting the two pipes of different sizes, partly because the weight of, the reducing pipe section and its flanges is entirely eliminated and partly because the flange which is employed on the larger pipe is of less weight than a flange which isstandard for said size of pipe. I

Another advantage of the invention is that the full gasket area is retained on flanges even though the flange which is used for the larger pipe section is smaller than. a flange which is standard for said size of pipe.

Another feature relates to the novel manner in which the flange with the counterbore is welded to the corresponding pipe.

My improved flange is applicable not only for flanging pipe sections together but also for flanging pipes to Ts or elbows where it is desired to connect to the T or elbow a pipe having a smaller diameter than the through opening in said "T or elbow, in which case the improved flange acts as a reducer. n

In order to give an understanding of the invention, I have illustrated in the drawings some selected embodiments thereof which will now be described after which the novel features will be pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view showing my invention as it might be employed in flanging together two pipes of different diameter.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of two pipes of different sizes flanged together with a flange embodying the invention.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view-showing a flange embodying my invention with a pipe end inserted into the counterbore thereof ready for the welding operation.

Fig. 4 is a view illustrating the pipe welded to the flange in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view showing a different embodiment of the invention.

In Fig. 1, I and 2 indicate'two pipes" which are to be connected together, the pipe I having a larger diameter than the pipe 2. 3 indicates a flange which is standard insize and dimension of holtfholecircle ior-the smaller pipe Zandwhich has aftl irougl' opening 6 of a size to receive the end portion 5 of the 'pipe Z. This flange is welded to v the pipe at the point '6 where thepipe enters the flange and the extremityof the pipe is also wel'ded to the flange as indicated at. 6a :this being the usual Y way in which standard flanges are welded to pipes. The flange which is as on the pipe I of larger diameter and which eni dies my invention isindicated at "I. This fla ge has the same size anddiameter of the bolt hdle gi'rcle as the mating flange 3, in other words, the flange! which is used on the larger pipe is standard as to size and diameter of bolt hole 'dircle forthe pipe 2 of smaller diameter. The flange "I, however, is counterbored as shown at 8 to provid a counterbore of a diamejter to receive the end portion 9 of the pipe lfoflarger diame'ter. I'his counterbore it extends nearly but not Iiuit'je through the flange I, thereb leaving a flange portion I0 at theinnererid of the counterborejan jd providing a shoulder II against which the end of thepipe I is seated. The extremity of 'thepipe I is beveled inwardly and backwardly as shown at I2, and the shoulder II is alsoif'oriiied with a complemental beveled face I'2a,

w ch forms with the bevel face I2 (in the endof t'li pipe a wide angle annular groove for receiving the welding material I3 during the welding bp'e tion. The flange I also hastl'iebevelecl sii ace I4 at its outer face, thereby providing itziththe pipe an annular groove on the exterior of he pipe" If The flange I is weldedto the pipe lion "I by making a Weld I3 which fills' the space between the beveled face I2 orthe pipe and the beveled face PM of the shoulder I Land also by making another weld I3a on the outside er the pipe which fins the groove formed by the beyeledface I I. 7 v p j In welding the flange. I to the pipe I, the weld I3 is preferably made 'first after which the weld [3a is made. In the making of the w-eld i3 the heat generated in fusing the end of t he pipe to the shoulder II is suflicient to also fuse the enenomr the pipe nd 9 110 the Wa o th cbunterbore 8, thereby expelling any gases gene e d by the welding operation which might accumulate in space between saidpipecnd 9 and the wall ofthe counterbore. Whentheweld Hit is made there will be no gases betweehlthe two welds that could be trapped in said sp'aceby the making or said weld I'3a. This is an im- 4 portant feature because the presence of a gas pocket in said space between the two welds is a source of weakness and is therefore detrimental. Furthermore the wide angle groove which is formed by the beveled faces I2 and I2a permits a satisfactory weld I3 to be made without leaving the rough unfinished surface and shoulder which results when a standard straight flange is Welded to the end of a pipe. The opening through the flange "I may be substantially the same diameter as the inside of the pipe and as stated above, the wide angle annular groove formed betwe'e'nthe twobeveled faces I2 and I 2a gives ample room for producing a weld which comes flush with the inside of the pipe, thereby malging a smooth finished surface.

These welded flanges are frequently made with raised gasket areas immediately surrounding the opening therethrough as shown at I5. the two gasketaras of two companion flanges that are boltedv together receiving between them a gasket I6. With the construction above described the counterbored flange 'I still retains its full gaslget area" which corresponds [in size to that "(if the standard flange 3, and therefore vvlijeri the two "flanges are bolted together by the bolts T8 at full ed a t ma be e l d M improvement thusfr'nakes it possible to, 'con-- 'he ct together two pipes of diiferent sizes without the necessity of using the reducing pipe sect This is of verygreat a vant ge in connection withship building dperatio'nsin which it is imrter save a m c w s epheme- "In Fig. 1, I have shown in dotted lines the size of a flange which would be standard for la pipe of the larger sweeten as at "I and the dotted lines also show the standard diameter pr bol h lec r e i iwhfl th m n fi a whe e n ts. P b e o u n t l rge P ne, 1 fl ew h i s n ar n si e a d .b l' hole circlejfor the smaller pipa th'e're is reducj ihw is i r t he few ha as can .1 used on the larger pipe is of less weightthan the standard flange for said pipe. z,

While I have illustrated ,the inventiqn fflit would be used in connecting two pipes of different di' 'eteigyet itwi ll beobviousth'at it is equally ap ic'able for connecting arm of a T with a p ne having a di me r sma a id. an and it is also equally applicable for connecting an elbow to a pipe of smaller diameter. U V

An adv n g o e v ni' on a abpli d, t connecting a T to a pipe of s malle'r diameter is that the conne ctionis accomplished within, the overall dimensions of a standard I and without the use of a length of reducing pipe section 'as a b n he e mmi p' fi e- My invention may also be embodied in flanges for connecting pipes of the same size by using for this purpose fianges whichare smallerin size and diameterof bolt hole circle' than standard straight an rs; the'size of pipes to be connected and by counterbo'ring the flanges so as to receive the ends of the pipes to be connected. Insuch a constructiona material saving in weight results because of the use of the smaller flanges. Furthermore such srnalle'r flanges are o f great. advantage in installing a piping where space is at a P m nd i 'i Q saiy l q fi i f of pipecloser to a partition, bulkhead, e a han Warmer e s he e @i. this st dar straight flange for the size of piping being installed. X .In Fi 5 rnav s own .afl naejfi y ng invehtion which is prevailed with "a shouldered groove Mb adapted to receive the welding I31). This groove Mb is formed partially by counterboring the opening through the flange to form the right angular faces 40, ll and is also provided with the inclined face 42. This form of groove provides a somewhat more substantial weld 131) than the groove l4 shown in Fig. 1.

I claim:

The combination with two pipes of different sizes to be connected together, of a steel flange provided with bolt holes, said flange being standard as to size and diameter of bolt hole circle for the smaller pipe and having a central opening of a size to fit said smaller pipe and in which the end of said pipe is received, said flange being welded to said pipe, and a companion flange having the same diameter as the first-named flange, which companion flange is also standard as to size and diameter of bolt hole circle for the smaller pipe and has a two diameter opening therethrough with an interior shoulder between the portions of the opening of different diameter, the portion of the opening of smaller diameter being of the same size as the opening in the first-named flange, thereby providing both flanges with the same gasket area, and the portion of the opening of larger diameter being of a size to receive and receiving the end of the larger pipe, the end face of said larger pipe being beveled in- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 697,827 Fluder Apr. 15, 1902 748,807 Spratt Jan. 5, 1904 831,588 Wood Sept. 25, 1906 1,474,995 Burroughs ..,..1 Nov. 20, 1923 2,181,196 Miller Nov. 28, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 320,754 Great Britain Oct. 24, 1929 

